Acts of savagery
Dear Sir,
The brutal acts of the IS/ISIL/ISIS group must be condemned by all peace-loving people across the religious divide. Their acts of savagery are an affront to mankind and a crime against humanity.
World leaders should tackle increased religious intolerance by promoting discussions both within religious groups and by ensuring that moderate political leaders are involved in the talks. Freedom of religion is the mother of all human rights and all human rights are universal and interconnected.
In our globalised world, certain religions or believers feel more and more threatened than before.
Acknowledging and allowing diversity is a necessary component of freedom and tolerance.
Dogma is a dangerous trend that can set the world alight in an inferno. The resurgence of this kind of thinking poses a profound threat to liberal societies, which are based on ideas of liberty and equality. It is a continuation of the types of hatred which fuelled the witch burnings of the Renaissance, the Spanish inquisition and the Nazi holocaust.
The challenges facing the political and religious leaders of mankind are to contemplate, with hearts filled with the spirit of compassion and desire for truth, the plight of humanity, and ask themselves whether they cannot, in all humility, before the Almighty, submerge their differences in a great spirit of mutual forbearance that will enable them to work together for the advancement of religious understanding and political stability.

Farouk Araie
farouk.araie@telkomsa.net